" Wooley , Bully "

sang , Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs.
I know , you're waiting for the segue. Where is this one going ?

In the News: A wooly mammoth was found intact and w/ liquid blood. The by-line, scientists have hopes to clone a ' mammoth '.

We can't even keep elephants alive , facing poaching and loss of habitat etc. One assumes , a mammoth needs more of everything c.f. an elephant.
Or , is the thinking , Oh , mammoth wool - a whole new sweater industry.  Mammoth meat burgers ? 

Now, talk about a feces making machine - better than an elephant 

Weather : 77 F in the shade and its 10:52 AM. What does that tell you , Gunga Din.
The A/C has cycled through right now for the fifth time this morning and it will pick up the pace I'm sure.

This AM , was take Mom for the mold making process for dentures.
Laughing gas and some cajoling , got us through - three molds b/c the first upper mold got shaken around too much on setting.
All in all, it was slam bam , thank you ma'am.    SUCCESS

The day is all gravy , from here on in.

Poop , By Any Other Name

Listening at night to PRI via CBC overnight , some weird stuff comes through the earbuds.

Kinda caught this one part way through but heard , human excrement will power cars and trucks. Oops , what is this ?

The author wrote a book called ' the Origin of Feces '. ( Bet you think that I make this up. No way. Its too strange. I'm no where near that creative.)
Entirely , on the uses for human and animal poop to provide food stuffs and energy.

I do remember seeing articles from ' the New Scientist ' which focused on processing human waste to grow algae , which being 1 st generation energy level organisms , maximized energy transfer. The algae was ground as flour for bread etc.

This guy went way further.

The beaver attacks made the 6 o'clock news , and comments from biologists indicate that the rest of world is safe from beaver fever.
Allah be praised.

Weather : T.O. was issued its 1 st heat alert of the year. City Hall was open for cooling. Water and beds are set up as a place of shelter from the heat. Sure isn't helping the heat on Rob , mayor.
The latest scuttlebutt going around is , the mayor told staff that he knew where the video was being kept and it was safe.

You Know , It Don't Come Easy

We're talking about sleep , both of us in this house , seemingly have developed poor sleep routines. or we are plain , sleeping poorly , at least not through the night.
In the News : Beavers 10 - Belarusians 0. People were being attacked by beavers. a fisherman posing ( for what , for whom ? ) was bitten and died. My source , the news ticker on CITY Pulse news. The message flew across the screen , so ,  there is obviously , some background to the story. BUT , why would I care - the headline is a winner. Or , the stuff , a fisherman's nightmares arise from.

The hostas LIVE , rain last night and they're up and spreading. dynamite creatures , them.

I'M NOT COMPLAINING it was almost hot to-day. High humididity , plus rain mid morning. I showered twice , it showered twice , a tie !  A clean marine.
A lot has been accomplished these last 2 days , albeit , in spurts and starts , but it got done. Overall, maybe, 1 week away from boat launch if all goes well.

Gardening w/ a Chain Saw

Out in the garden , proving that gardening skill is not inherited. Not even learned , it seems.

So , followers  ( follower ? ) of this blog , may recall , mulching and such at QMH.
We couldn't find or remember where , perhaps , some hostas were hiding. Well , as in all things - who does the finding is moot.

We bought new hostas and went to plant them. Cut holes in the landscape cloth , dug around in the old mulch and - hostas. Yep, the hostas grew under the landscape cloth and were bulging up.
We opened up the cloth and popped the hostas through.
Will they live ? Go figure , they lived under the cloth , now they can reach for the skies.

Even gardeners that garden w/ chainsaws can grow hostas.

In the news: We're #3. Another poll , another loss. Economic something or other did a poll of the best places to live. We we're behind Sweden  and Denmark or some such.

Weather , cool this day , sun broke through but pretty much clouded over. Rain has sprinkled down in periods but as of 5 PM it has been a steady downpour w/ bursts of water.

Monday , day breaks

The sun is out and there is hope this week. Temperatures are on their way to 75 F +.         Sum....m...e...r ?

Movie Review : ' Lincoln '

Redbox rating , at least $1.70 ( out of $ 2 ) 

A little arty for me. But definitely a moving portrayal of someone who Will Rogers , might say , was our last President . as in " the U.S. hasn't had a president since , Lincoln ".

The film was narrow in scope , concentrating on a very tumultuous four months both in the first family and the nation at large.
I heard Daniel Day Lewis , in the segment ' Making of Lincoln ' and that British accent just doesn't jive w/ the man who played Lincoln. Amazing.

Gardening happened , yesterday. Well, someone gardened and I sort of bent over and pretended. however , little planty things are sticking out of the mulch.
BTW - to B and M - our mulch wasn't much less than 2 inches deep.

Now, I have to get this off my chest. " I have never met Rob Ford - I have never sold drugs to Doug Ford  - nor has either Ford put their arm on my shoulder in a video - I say this unequivocally - and I don't ever want to be Mayor of Toronto "

#2 - Deja Vu ?

In the News : Canada Second again , to Germany

In this poll ( same one ? as yesterday ) Canada got a positive rating from 55 % of pollees rating  ' how Canada is viewed by the world.'

The criteria didn't list growth , commodities etc just opinion from people world-wide over 4 months.

So , I guess we have statistical and anecdotal rankings , if this isn't the same BBC poll.

Sun 5/26 - Eye stingers back , for the last 7 days , 2 episodes.
This AM , I thought eyes were good , then eyes open even , got a stinger

Weather sun 5 /26 Spring time conditions Bright sun , cool but encouraging

Review " Cloud Atlas "  What the heck was that ?
Words that I would use to describe CA. 

Back and forth
Disjointed
Big sky views
Drink lots before
Drink lots after

Star cameos ( other than Hanks and Berry ) Susan Sarandon , Hugo Weaving , Hugh Grant

To quote from the movie , ' fruggit , worth , no '

Rating for RedBox rental : $ 1.30 from $2 
Don't need to see this one again

Typically , Canadian, eh ?

The BBC World Service , conducted a poll. The topic , best country , financially.
Canada got # 2 , up from third. Beaten by Germany. Pourquoi you ask.
BBC listed slow economic growth , falling commodity prices and interest rates dragging down Canada's fortunes
Japan fell from 1 st to 4 th.
Germany is a juggernaut - aha , history has heard that one before - any lessons learned , probably not.

Of course , we're satisfied , we're Canada - 2 nd comes naturally to us.

I'm re-watching the disaster genre , offering " the Day After To-morrow " starring Dennis Quaid and Jake Gyllenhal. The premise is that global warming leads to a change in the average temperature of the world , the dawning of the next Ice Age.
Ian Holm reprises his role as Bilbo - kidding he has a important co-star function
The director Roland Emmerich didn't go for the sappy , launch a cruise missile armed w/ spent uranium rods , that re-aligns the earth's axis etc. averting the disaster. Nope, the disaster comes and you deal w/ it.
This entry also boasts Sela Ward and Emmy Rossum , the former is poised and ever comely and the second up and coming and winsome.
I would recommend this movie but please see it soon - an Ice Age is coming after all.

BTW- on the L Scale of movie re-watches, this ' tDAT ' probably rates a 8.5 / 10. Or it gets popped into the DVD player about 5 times a year. Hey , do these DVD thingies wear out.
I remember hearing that a VHS tape had a re-play life of 500 times plus additional damage from normal brittling due to aging

OK The weather is bright and sunny w/ cool and wind. Also, seems dry out there - time to clean out the eavestrough again.


Under the title of  ' I told you so or some such ' I love my GPS , in fact , its close to an addiction. I use it for short trips  and leave it on for QMH. I refer to the speed function instead of looking down at the odometer on the dash.
Years ago, I said that the GPS was a toy and nothing more. However, in my defence and cheapness those early units cost $ 500 and maps were purchased separately each year.
At Costco , this GPS was $160 and came w/lifetime maps. Alright ,so , I'm always 3 years behind everyone else. OK. Maybe 4 yrs.
But I get there.

Blast from the Past

Typically , this title would be for oldie goldies NOPE
The temp fell to 36F overnight  and 40 mi. N of T.O. , there was snow. Its 42 , in the shade , now. Dark and dreary. Winter-ish weather came back.
And , I've brought out the plastic zipper storage thingy w/ my shorts.
The weather dude promises 65 F in two days.

On the eye front - got a stinger 2 nights ago and its still irritated. Back to the drawing board. I've been tearing all night.

Again , the laptop ran out of juice , so I'm plugged in. To all those people in airports when I maligned your battery , I apologize , I'm AC dependent too !

In the news :
1/3 of Canadians can't save - living from paycheck to paycheck.

Rob Ford ( our mayor ) has been parodied on every late night show.
Robbie fired his chief of staff and has his brother ( a councillor ) fronting for him. Oh , Rob , what have you done or not done.

Federally , the ruling Conservatives ( read , Republicans for my southern friends ) are dodging innuendo and malfeasance . Looks good on them but it won't matter ,the Tories have a majority , good for two more years.

A tornado hit homes , 20 mi N of the QMH , in the Kawartha Lakes incorporation - whew thats close. Actually , big wind is a characteristic of the whole area. Its what keeps us cool on many a summer night.

Muffins and Reflections

I'm sat , typing at the bistro table in the kitchen. The muffins are now , just out of the oven and the little guys are cooling.

Many times , I can tell that even in conversation , my thoughts sort of pop around and I catch people off guard b/c they are logically trying to follow the previous sentence and train of patter.

Muffins are the proof that I'm retired and can do anything that I want. Two days ago , a MI friend commented that she missed or thought often of my muffins.

Actually , this brought to mind a moment - when I was bemoaning , my lack of creativity , these moments come often , and someone ( not a fan favourite , BTW ) said that maybe my cooking and baking, qualified. I quickly , dismissed the comment - why , who knows. I suppose that the muffins seem so utilitarian that its hard to think of them as creative.

There is the title for to-day, muffins cooling and reflections on creativity.

Do they taste good , yes or people are being kind. I enjoy them. And for muffins , my bran muffs are healthy. See , what I mean about utilitarian.

So creativity, what is it ?  Something out of nothing ,what other people can't do or didn't do ?

My muffins are the recipe from the back of Rogers brand , bran. I use canola oil instead of vegetable oil and whole wheat flour for white flour. The sugar is Splenda brown for 1/3 less calories than regular brown sugar. So, the recipe is tweaked slightly.

Thank you Mr Rogers.

BTW , the muffins are sweet , this morning - oops , a valid use of oops , got a little carried away w/ the eyeball measuring , I guess.

Ohio : In Summary. Love the house. In fact, it was the kind house we would have picked if we hadn't gone to wrong house and bought this one instead.  We had an easy , relaxing visit. A big thank you for NOT taking us to the Rock and Roll Hall of fame , McKinleys tomb etc. Not my thing really.

The drive was ez - pz. Major roads etc

Swenson's was marvy and so was the Horseshoe Casino.

What Have You Done , To-day

We've been to the downtown casino in Cleveland and some of us even won some money . Not moi.
Our opinion is that the casino was a real deal Flashy and friendly - very well done.
Superior to anything we've seen in S. On.

Ooh , and we thought downtown T.O. had construction, broo ha ha. Hello Cleveland. Between one way streets and the distribula of road and building work, we crawled through downtown.

Well , Jack Reacher , comes to a town , solves 2 crimes - kicks the bejeesus out of six people. Yep, we watched the Tom Cruise offering , " Jack Reacher ' . It wasn't worth the $ 6 ( on demand ), but for $2 at Zip Redbox , it was a steal. *** out of 4.

We re - watched " Life of Pi " and Pi got good reviews but much eye brow scrunching - see it wasn't just me that got thrown sideways.

So , do you go visiting to watch movies ? Cuz we do , it seems

A fascinating tour of someone else's life and home happened to us this week. And if we saw 2 movies we are really in plus territory.

So , hello Ohio and we'll think of Norton , instead of Cinncinati - b/c it was the only town we ever passed through that we remembered.






We visited a local fishing spot and caught , Nada.

And we lunched ala auto at a favourite hang out called Swenson's Drive In. A legendary palce of making out and burgers and shakes.
The last of a dying breed , carhops race to your flickering headlights and offer the meal of the day.

Ohio

means , good morning in Japanese ... however, this Ohio is the state , cuz thats where we are.
I'm visiting , one of the fans of this blog.
OK . Maybe  , not fan but a reader of the blog.

Ohio in some Indian tongue is " great river ".
A geography very much similar to Ontario ( the south ) and climate it seems.

And we're having a wonderful time

Shoe Wars

Alright , its not earth shattering. However, very little in my life is.

The size 7 runners were too small. The helper , Gelan , said why didn't you get a size 7 1/2. Well duh , thats the size of her current shoes and the PSW s said that those were too big.
Upshot , I give up. They can convene a grand jury.

The day broke dreary w/ a slight breeze. The temp is 56 F. 
The backyard is greener yet.

The news cycle is in drought mode. Our Mayor and his crack pipe are headline news. " Ridiculous " is the 80 pt header. The bombs go off across the Middle East and  Robbie gets top spot.

See , Shoe Wars , isn't so bad.

Whole Lot of Shaking....

There were reports of a 5point earthquake centred in Quebec. The effects were felt as far as Cleveland , OH.
Here in Scarborough, the quake broke a coffee pot. M claims the tremors shattered the glass carafe. Unfortunately, the carafe was broken at 8: 30 sitting in the dishwasher and the quake was timed at 9:45. However, M assures me that a pre-quake may have been responsible.

The day is sunny , and slightly windy ( no doubt caused by the earthquake ) , so another fine spring day.

Our mayor is facing allegations that a video that is available for purchase ( no one is willing to buy it ) shows our Mayor Rob , smoking crack cocaine. I wouldn't even know what this would look like , however , those that do , say Yes, he's doing it .

Toronto's casino bid is hot news. The major thrust is a downtown casino in T.O. The thinking is that the revenue will fund infrastructure , roads , transit etc. T.O. wants a hosting fee of $100 million per year. This amount would be a potentially , higher fee than allowed elsewhere , in the province. OMG , treating T.O. differently , than anyone else , the thought is mind boggling.

Our loaner pandas, are now on display. The panda food is flown in 2 X a week. Apparently, the pandas eat chopsticks - well , bamboo, shipped from their home range. T.O. has them for 5 yrs and then they go to Alberta - they'll freeze there , I mean Alberta. Temps in Alberta , hit - 40 C.

Shoe , bizarre , continues to-day , I go to try the size 7 running shoes on Mom.

The Spiderwick Chronicles

Tidbits from the boob tube , not to be confused w/ YouTube.

The reference in the title is to the children's books - and the name , of course.

In an ordinary field , OK , even un-ordinary fields , there are 200 spiders per sq m. This is a lot of spiders.

Most spiders don't build webs 

Jumping spiders have the best vision among invertebrates

Spiders make 3 kinds of silk , using combinations of silks to make the different strands that they need

Spider bites generally , do not have harmful effects on people
( which is news to me b/c I always thought that I got spider bites e.g. on my legs - which means some other ugly critter is doing me )

There are spitting spiders that launch their silk to capture prey and the silk these spiders shoot can contract by some 20 %

The richest spider in the world is JJ McSpinner , about the same league as Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg

See, you're getting an education.

Weather ( 5 / 16 ) , Sun burst out and the garden is greener and fuller. Life is burgeoning ( Ha never thought that I'd get to use that word ). Fierce winds , yesterday , and to-day the leaves are more than the rippling.

Ok off to tame the world , good luck , this day

Mommy's shoes. I was told by the PSW s at the Home , your mother's shoes are too big. We figured , the shoes were 7 1/2 s.
I took a pair of M's size 7 1/2 cast-offs - too big , they slip off.
Out to Wally Mart and buy a size 7 slip - on type slipper. TOO SMALL.
Now, I'm going to try a size 7 running shoe , on the basis , that w/ laces, there must be more leeway in the shoe.

Of course, some wise type is going , " Should have taken your Mom to the shoe store ".
Nope . She remembers what her dress shoes were like and thats all she wants. Thankfully, the salesgirl caught on , and started discussing how this shoe in her hand was the latest fashion for wear w/ slacks, Should have tipped her.
Besides , thats a 2 hr trip if I take her.

Your Northern Gateway News

The News , business : The Real Estate board of Canada reported that house sales were down in Canada. Region by region differences exist. The Toronto area had sales fall 2 % w / house prices fairly stable.
Prices in T.O. average a tad under $ 500 K. Vancouver prices are in the mids $ 700 K.
This data confirms a soft landing for the housing market. The down side is the predicted fall in the Canadian loonie.

Bad stuff: The fellow who was missing has now been found dead and burned. Tim Bosma went for a test drive w/ 2 potential buyers , last Mon. - he never came home. An arrest has been made.

Our temporary cold spell is over. Our temp o/vnight was 40 but we're due for 70 something to-day. We started in rain but that should go away by noon.

Sunday 5 / 12

Not much of a title , true but dull.

A dreary day to start , sun broke through and Weatherboy is dressed for winter - difference tho' everything is green and budding. Rain will be a threat for two days - then warm starts again

Thumb , report.  Splint is off , quite a bit. I'm trying to exercise the wrist area , a little more. I have continued to perform my regular routine - w/ some adaptations , hand position etc. / less reps etc.

In the news here : a man offered his truck on Kijiji , web service want ads and 2 guys came. The trio drove off and the owner never returned , its been 7 days since he went missing. This action took place approx an hr.  from us. He had a neat pick up truck.

Cleveland hype is now in de-hype mode. " No Heroes " , Reads the headlines about the Cleveland kidnapping ( s ). The news machine has discovered everyone's checkered past , trouble in the rescuer life etc. Love the media.

My BD gifts all centred around fishing - go figure. An antique fishing rod came my way. A bamboo fly rod but in a hinged wooden case. The box contains flies and hooks. Normally, bamboo will warp if not handled w / care over the years.
While assembling the rod , I realize that there is an extra piece of rod from some other outfit.

7 PM Update : the temp is 35 F. the wind is howling. Snow flew horizontally off the deck into the windows. Driving slightly N and east of Metro , we had ten minutes of haily/snow - harder than snow but only tinkled against the window not hits. Then the sun broke out.

If dandelions take over the world , you can tell people that you know where the invasion started - our lawn.

To-night is the 2 hr Survivor episode , so , I'm typing and M is watching. Perhaps , I'll feel like a survivor by ten o'clock.
I always claim that there is a lot to do - thus , I should get at it.

Gloomin' day

Grey day breaking , here. Not cold but 55 F in the shade.

Did another check on the competition ( other blogspots ).
One guy had 54 responses to his item. It was a religious site and , of course , that blog was dated 4 / __ / 2012 , and that was the latest.
54 responses , crikey  , he must have hundreds of readers.

Religion. Guess , I could try. Talk about  short blog entries.

I'm starting a comparison ,that will need updating and maybe help.
A recent movie release was  ' Jack Reacher ' by Lee Child. We were pointed in that direction by an Ohio connection. I read about 11 JR books.
I got to thinking and re-read a series ( only 4 out of 100 something ) where the lead character is Remo Williams. RW is the ' Destroyer ' or Shiva made incarnate. RW was a movie as well. Fred Ward was Remo and the title was ' Remo Williams , the Adventure Begins '.
The movie was a bomb and was saved by a dubious cult status. And , of course, me. Loved it.
Here goes:
                 Jack Reacher                                 Remo Williams

Height        6' 3"                                              tallish

Notable     big and broad                                 average , slightly
features                                                           thicker wrists

Trained      U.S. army                                      Chiun , master of
by                                                                     Sinanju

Purpose     none                                               assassin , legends in
                                                                         their trade

# of books   18 ?                                                  100 ?

Author       Lee Child                                         Warren Murphy
                                                                            _____   Sapir 

People       8 per book                                          8 , easy
killed

Unique       just roaming                                      directed by C.U.R.E
b/c             gets stuck                                          to correct , lawless -
                  fixing problems                                 ness
                  finishes fights                                    dodges bullets
                  beds lots of girls                                doesn't mind sex
                                                                             but its boring

A Tour of Sorts

Every once in a while , I hit the icon that takes the screen to other blogs on Blogspot. Kinda check out the competition.
3 things become apparent. Their blog is better , i.e. more colourful and more pictures plus the blog is designed , the others blogs are directed , photography or London or their pub.  Many blogs cease to exist - they stop.

Here, less colour , way less pictures but it goes on ...... and on.

1/2 therapy , 1/2 ? who knows

Weather for the southern folks ,o/vcast and drizzly but warmish. Our temps will fall over the next 3 days. We are headed for 50 F fairly quickly after to -night. Tulips need the rain.

In the News : Kidnappings in OH , the Leafs lost again but it was close , that and a dime will get them ? .................  holey kamoley Batman , I can't fill in the blank.

My first thoughts newspaper ( ha ha ) , chocolate bar ( ha ha-er )
matches ( ? ).  Please write in if you can think of 10 cent ..........
A dime for your thoughts and you were thinking the penny was dead ?

In soccer, Alex Ferguson , manager of Manchester United will retire. Bad news for me , one of my main reasons for hating the Red Devils was him.
I tell folks if Man U is playing , I'm rooting for the other guys. Except , when its Galatasary of Turkey . That team is bunch of thugs.

Thumb news , it hurts less. M asks about the state of thumb and I tell her that I'm worried about 7 days from to-day and how I can manage to re-injure the joint , seems to be the history that I've had.
The wonder , breathable neoprene ( ? ) does sweat , so all that wicks away the moisture crap is just that crap.

" Women want me , fish fear me " says my BD card. Somehow that s comforting , even if it is untrue. Imagine ' fish fear me ? ' Neat.

smaller Thumbs

The swelling is down , thus a smaller thumb.
At SDM , as close as Canadians get to CVS , I saw and purchased a thumb wrap. The TW is probably , a lighter support , used for convalescence or long term injury recovery. A breathable material w/ velcro ties.
I figure that I'll need support in the future.

Oh , Happy BD , to me. This item is fairly self serving , I suppose.

In the News : Hostages released in Cleveland. We'll pass that way in ten days or so.

BeachBoys memorabilia goes on auction. Lots of it , but sold as a lot I think. One big price.

Weather , warm and o/vcast. The long slide downhill for ten days.

A Shorter Blog ?

OK. When will the blog entry be short.
Recall , this element of the blogoshpere was  ' two sentence blogging ' at one time. Oh  , where have those days gone.

Day 2 : sprained thumb CRAP , nothing has really improved.

Well, my bandage wrap cum splint is getting a little more sophisticated - as in more of a custom job. Looks ugly , sloppy but comfortable and efficient. Support but not too rigid.
The wrap affair is a ' ace bandage ' , stretchy kind w/ folded order form , shaped to be a thumb splint , and the thumb splint is held to the thumb by a velcro mini - belt that was originally for a finger flashlight. Always feels good when you hoard and then recycle.

I may be developing forearm strain above the bandage from trying to work the arm w/out wrist or thumb on that side. Figures , right ?
And all I see are the jobs that I should be doing.
So, why didn't you do them before , dunno ?
On the net under Google for thumb sprain : ice for 2 - 3 days check

Splint or bandage for 2 weeks check  Wait - 2 weeks  ??? You are joking , right ?

A light bandage / splint may be needed for support for a further 2 - 3 weeks, - oh yeah, can see that coming true. I'll re-sprain the thumb before that happens.

Bonus: If I can launch the boat , at least I can fish right handed and turn the crank handle on the reel lefty.



Weather holds as per yesterday - perfectamundo. 

THUMBnail TALES or ARRG

Ooh, I could blow a gasket here.
My thumb is sprained ,  left thumb - left handed person.
In the ' Long Dark Teatime of the Soul ' a book by Douglas Adams , ' ARRG ' is the abbrev. for ' Aries Rising Record Group ' and ' ARRGH ' is ' Aries Rising Record Group Holdings , LLB '
Here ' ARRG ' is what I scream out every ten minutes.

I can still : type   /  shave   / use the remote ( mostly )

I can't  :  wring out dishcloths    / turn knobs   / hold heavy objects
               undo my pants ( left handed )   / personal hygiene ( LH )
               and those last 2 are difficult right handed.

Notice that the ' can't do ' list is longer , b/c that s what I notice most. 

History :  My thumbs , esp the left , have been prone to sprains for about ten years. This effort is the worst yet. The thumb is splinted , so if you saw the list and wondered how that particular could be a problem - its the splint and wrist wrap that is really the difficulty.

But, I can phone people. So, Ohio got a call. Called the bank.
Apparently, talking doesn't bother the thumb.
I can still type , so you will get a pageful , to-day.

To add to my woes ... its official. For the first time since 1971 , the JHU BlueJays , failed to qualify for the NCAA Tourney. A 41 year , record , the longest in all of college sports , came to an end.
To put this in perspective. The Toronto Maple Leafs haven't won a Stanley Cup , since 1967.
See, its all how you look at it. Which is worse... oh , yeah, no question , the Leafs.

Actually, I'm making less typos ( that I notice ) using the 6 finger method , rather than the ten finger system that is usual.
I took typing in Gr 9. Slowest typer in the class , but of the lower 1 / 3 of the class , I made the fewest mistakes , just slow , real slow.

M marvels at how fast , I can make mistakes on the keyboard.
I live and die by ' SpellCheck '. On Google , the spell check pops up on every document. Very useful and essential ,for ten finger typers.

Oh, I can still drink 6 cups of coffee w/ a sore thumb , do tell.

How come the dandelions are looking more numerous and fitter and healthier than yesterday. Arrg - h, hear me roar.

I'm listening to Van ' the man ' Morrison , ' Bright Side of the Road ' etc. - great album. I heard an interview w/ V M and he came across very angry. The topic was ,  up and coming singers , and I think their lack of dedication to music v. making money.

Speaking of VM. And this would apply to a lot musicians , and other endeavours actually.

I've noticed that when people ask me ' what music do you like  ? '
and I reply ' classical ' and then say ' Sibelius or Handel ' , invariably , I'll get the reply ' Oh, thats not real classical music '. Jazz , folk it happens so frequently.
Or  Poetry..... 
So, I like MUSIC , tough freeolies, y'all.
So freeking elitist , some people.... 

Ah, ' Someone Like You ' just came on , sing it ,V M , 
' someone exactly like you ' 

Weather : can only go downhill , trust me.

Out of the Blue

I'm assuming here that the expression above is short form for " out of the wild blue yonder " or right out of the sky - as in ' poof ' its there.

Saturday , a phone call displays on the ' caller ID ' - don't recognize the name and we don't pick up. Message , gives a first and last name - nope. Then, the question did you grow up on ' X ' street, Yes.
Now it twigs ( where does that expression come from, sprouting twigs ?????????? ). Anywhoo, I return the call and we catch up on the last 50 years , give or take.
We didn't cover it all - no kidding.

On my radio show VT , Fri night , the category was strange band names. EBTG - Everything But The Girl , is introduced. Surprise the girl can sing ,her name is Tracy Thorne , song wasn't any one that I knew but still she was very good.
Actually, the band's name comes from a store of the same name or the department called " Everything but the Girl ' . the dept furnished apartments for bachelors - everything but....... .
Neat.
Randy Bachman is the host but I'm telling you , the image I get listening is Jeff Bridges w/ a beard. In truth, Randy is pretty similar in appearance to JB , bet he doesn't think so ,but I do.

Weather : Can't get better - we're screwed. Downhill from here.
Ah, we reach the top to slide down. very Buddhistic.  Cycles happen , life cycles - we accept or should.

Movie reviews : Alex Cross

Action, police thingmy. Rating 60 cents out of the dollar rental at RedBox. Try to get this one on 50 cents Tues, there's a bargain.

Magic Mike
Don't look at me , she chose it. rating on 50 cent Tues , one thin dime. Hard bodies , hot babes and all the subtlety of an avalanche.

Pirates of the Carribean
Good thing , that I like the ride at Disney. Rating 60 cents at Redbox but unfortunately, I bought this one used for $ 9. I goofed but we have the others so.........

Waiting for Johnny Depp as Tonto , in the " Lone Ranger ".
I have a set of audiotapes from the 40 s w/ ' the Lone Ranger ' serial. Very dated , but it ' takes me back to days of  yesteryear '  -part of the intro to the LR serial.

BTW - in case , you were wondering , I do get feedback but it comes through my e-mail, since the bulk of the readership all 4 people know my ' handle ' ,  e-mailishly speaking.

BTW II - the BlueJays finished their season w/ a win. The JHU team is now 9 - 5. Awaiting selection Sunday , aujourdhui ,a and the news that a ) their 41 yr streak of qualifying ends or b ) once again , against all biased comments , they make it.

P.S. ( 8 PM report ) sprained my thumb ( again, about the eithieth time ) A real dumbo 

Mother Confessor

What function should this blog fulfill. Dunno.

Well, to-day , I missed an appointment at the bank.
I did go on the original date but that had been changed b/c my PBR saw that he had a meeting.
The kitchen calendar still had the original date and thats the one we saw.
I queried when  " oops " could cover an error. Hopefully, this mis-event is one. I did not leave him standing on a street corner ( b/c , my dad did this to my mom while they were first dating )
Maybe, some brain cells got mulched away.

Another beutii day. Warm and pleasant. Birds singing etc.

In The News : as  the Loop flashed by exiting my e-mail, I noticed that Lindsay Lohan is going back to jail. The problem is I'm never sure when she leaves. Sort of the revolving door policy she seems to engage.
Doesn't the in and out of jail thing , mess w/ your psyche ?

On ' Elementary ' the new Sherlock Holmes serial , SH is reading the obituary for a businessman / philanthropist. He quotes , the measure of the businessman ' s  success. 
I started to wonder if the real measure of success shouldn't be a series of small kindnesses rather than 1 big thing.
So , if you save the world , thats good but 1 hundred little acts of generosity should be worth more.
OK. So, I'm counting on that last one b/c the first isn't happening ...
I don't think.

Looking forward on this day .....  well , we'll see what unfolds

Have yourself a good one !

The Waters Rise

Previously, mention has been made re: high water problems. The TS system that governs water levels has claimed abating waters. So, our docks are now barely floating w/ lakes running over top. We are on the delta so high water generally means wider water over the marsh land. The river does rise too ! obviously.

The sun is beating down and the front ( E ) is hot. The back is cool and loverly. The raking went well and many leaves made their way up the hill ( dragged by yours truly, not gravity - mores the pity. )

Real Spring-y

Yes, it has arrived - warm and warm, gentle breezes.

AND mulch. MULCH !  Yep, to keep the weeds down.
A cubic yard arrives and we spread the stuff over 400 sq ft
Chinese peons do this kind of work. So, do we apparently.

The mulch is called Red Devil, super colour bin # 9 . We can be called red something b/c everything we wore is red.

" If the red slayer ,thinks he slays
Or the slain, think they are slain
They know not well the subtle ways
I keep and pass and turn again "

The Brahmin  R. W. Emerson

We put down a weed barrier clothe and then cover w/ mulch
Ask about the weeds come summer